This project was a side project to build out my own productivity tool that utilised Time-Blocking to help make me more productive, with the eventual view to roll it out as a purchasable app to the public.
Client: Yoodoo
As a UX/UI designer, I have the luxury to be able to design and produce apps and websites that fascinate me. Be it personal projects or venture for friends. For Yoodoo I set myself the challenge of creating a user-friendly productivity app that was the first to utilise a technique called Time-blocking to make being productive faster and easier. It was an exciting challenge that required a blend of creativity, ingenuity and passion to make a reality.
My mission was to create an easy-to-use productivity app tailored for focus-poor individuals who wanted to take back control of their time and have more productive days. It was an inspiring challenge, and I was thrilled to be able to help people reclaim their time and focus.
For this project the key points I needed to consider were:
1. What are the mistakes other apps are making?
2. What are essentials needed to make time-blocking easy and possible in app form?
3. How to make a complicated product simple?
4. What are the goals and expectations of the end user?
5. What price points and sales models are users most likely to convert at?
6. What is the brand and the design principles of the company?
7. What messaging and tone do we want to include?
8. What does the website look like?
9. What do the App Store images need to look like and what messaging do they need to convey?
10. What SEO is required so to optimise for keywords in each of the app stores.
I kicked off the project by researching the competition to understand the current landscape and identify opportunities for improvement. I analysed the mistakes other apps were making and explored the essential features required to make time-blocking easy and possible in app form.
With a better understanding of the market, I began to hypothesise ideas and map out user flows. This process allowed me to visualize the entire user journey and identify potential pain points, challenges, and opportunities to simplify the app.
Next, I sent out surveys to potential users to gather invaluable feedback on best practices and expectations. This user-centric approach was crucial in ensuring that Yoodoo would resonate with its target audience and meet their needs. The key insights gathered were around price, desire, the essential jobs to be done and identifying which competitors users were enjoying most.
Armed with this feedback, I created wireframes that served as the foundation for our app. These wireframes allowed me to iterate on the app's layout and structure quickly, ensuring that I was on the right track to delivering a truly user-friendly experience. With the wireframes in place, I built clickable prototypes to bring the user experience to life. These prototypes enabled me to test the app's usability and, more importantly, gather invaluable feedback from potential users. This hands-on approach was crucial for validating my design choices and making the necessary refinements to meet the users' needs.
Once I was confident in my design, I transformed the wireframes into a full-fledged UI design. I carefully crafted the brand's design principles, messaging, and tone, ensuring a cohesive and visually appealing interface.
With the UI design finalised, I handed the project over to my talented development team. They brought my vision to life, turning my design into a functional and easy-to-use app that focus-poor individuals could rely on. Obviously this wasn't as smooth sailing as it sounds. I had to act as project manager to manage and oversea the development to make sure the execution of the design was carried out to its proper specifications. This included setting up processes for open communication between myself and my developers, making sure every fine detail was adhered to.
For this project I set out to only test once the full UI had been completed and the MVP was ready. As I was in full control of this project I knew exactly how the app had to look and feel, and so i was confident in my design for it to be handed off to dev without prior testing. I was the only testing needed as it was a product built for people exactly like myself. This process, though not recommended worked out fine as my expertise ensured I knew what i was doing.
Once the app was ready I tested it on a small pool of 100 users who had signed up via a landing page I had created. Based on the feedback received, I crafted a roll out of new features and tweaks. Once the app was ready I rolled it out to the app stores where it continues to be refined based on user feedback.
I absolutely loved creating this app, and continue to reap the benefits of it to this day in my daily life. It's also testament to the fact that I clearly have a passion for product design, and solving problems through tried and tested UX design and methodologies.
